In girls basketball, it doesn't get much simpler than that, and Franklin County's Kayla Duncan knew it Friday night during the Lady Lions' 62-55 upset of No. 10 Cartersville.

Duncan was 7-for-10 from the 3-point line, leading the junior to a game-high 21 points and helping the Lady Lions ease into the Class AAA second round where they will face two-time defending state champion Gainesville (23-6) at 7 p.m. Thursday at Marietta High School.

It's the Lady Lions (16-13) first trip to the second round since 2002, the year after they reached the final four.

"She was hot (Friday) night, that's for sure," coach Holly Wilk said. "She's always been a good shooter. You could see her confidence coming all week. Confidence has a lot to with outside shooting."

In all, Franklin County sank a season-high 11 3-pointers, which scuttled the Lady Hurricanes' plan of running a zone defense and opened up the middle for sophomore Oceana Jackson, who registered 19 points.

It doesn't get any easier for Franklin County, though. The Lady Lions suffered a 42-point loss to Gainesville in their first game of the season on Nov. 18.

"I'm sure it's going to be different this time," Wilk said. "We're not the same team we were then."

Zipperer recovering from knee injury

Elbert County's chance of surviving fourth-seeded Cedartown essentially evaporated with 31 seconds left in the first quarter when point guard Joanna Zipperer collapsed to the court after suffering a knee injury.

Zipperer left and never returned, and without their main shooting threat, the top-seeded Lady Blue Devils were stunned 61-43 at home.

On Saturday, the 5-foot-2 senior said she was scheduled to see a doctor Tuesday to find out the extent of her injury. From the sound of it, ligament damage is a possibility.

"I'm not in pain, but I can't really walk on it," she said. "It's terrible. I remember it popping and falling to the floor."

The Region 8-AAA champions looked rattled after Zipperer went down and never seemed to free themselves from that fog. The Lady Blue Devils shot a season-low 30 percent from the field and failed to capitalize on 32 Lady Bulldog turnovers.

What made Zipperer so vital to Elbert County's attack was her ball-handling abilities and perimeter shooting. Without those facets, Cedartown was quick to cram the lane and deny any passes flowing into the low post.

Of the 40 No. 1 seeds in the state playoffs (Class AAAAA-Class A), Elbert County was one of six to lose in the first round. Class AAA had the most, with three going down, including the Lady Blue Devils, Northeast Macon and Cartersville.

On Friday night, the senior post player helped put the Lady Indians into the second round of the playoffs.

Holbrook, who sustained a mild concussion after she collided with teammate Paige McCollum at halfcourt in the Region 8-AAA title game, was released by doctors Tuesday and scored a team-high 19 points in the Lady Indians' 57-53 first-round victory over Cass.

Coach Jerry Brown was astonished by Holbrook's performance.

"Truthfully, she was very questionable through Thursday," he said. "As late as Wednesday, I didn't think she was going to be able to give us much."

Brown will need a healthy Holbrook when Stephens County (15-13) squares off with No. 2 Avondale (27-1) at 4 p.m. Friday at Marietta High.

"They're obviously a very good team," Brown said. "But all that matters is what happens in that hour and a half."

This and that

Clarke Central suffered one of its worst losses of the season, dropping a 50-28 decision to No. 6 Etowah. The Gladiators, though, had chances to keep it close, specifically from the free-throw line. They were 12-for-32 for the game. They made 6 of 18 in the first half, which led to a 23-16 deficit. ... Thanks to Haley Adcock's 19 points, George Walton Academy won its 26th consecutive game of the season and is headed to Thursday's GISA Class AAAA semifinals. The Lady Bulldogs face Central Fellowship at Milledgeville for the chance to play for a state title... Of the seven girls teams from Northeast Georgia that made the state playoffs, only three (Jefferson, Franklin County and Stephens County) remain.